David Riagoza, 14, plays first base for the Angels RBI Owlz in a Ryan Lemmon Foundation Future League game against the Aliso Niguel River Cats on Nov. 17 at Garden Grove High. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 3

Jack Sinanian, 15, of Marina High, rakes the field after playing catcher for the Angels RBI Owlz in a Ryan Lemmon Foundation Future League game against the Aliso Niguel River Cats on Nov. 17 at Garden Grove High. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

GARDEN GROVE – Cesar Serna is an 18-year-old aspiring baseball player who milks cows, works his family's farm in Mexico and cleans Orange County swimming pools with his uncle to scrape together enough money to buy a new pair of cleats.

He started in center fielder for Valencia High last season as a junior. He's quick and powerful. He hit .444 with 20 RBI and believes baseball is his big shot at a better life – if he can keep playing and developing and somehow get his talent to show up on a scout's radar.

But he's not exactly playing for a baseball powerhouse nor traveling the showcase circuit like some of his high school teammates.

And his family – his parents and three younger sisters still live in Mexico – can't afford to send him to private coaches, put him on travel teams or even chip in for a few extra tokens in a batting cage.

This is where Serna gets a little help from the Angels, who this year fielded a pair of all-star teams with players from their Angels RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program to compete in the Ryan Lemmon Foundation Fall League around Orange County.

"It's baseball," said Serna, pounding his fist in a palm as though he were wearing a mitt. "It's in my veins. Can't get enough of it because I'm always wanting to get better."

On a recent Saturday, when many Southern California sports fans were watching UCLA dethrone USC in college football, Serna sat in the aluminum stands at the Garden Grove High ballfield with his pal, Frankie Riagoza, his teammate and catcher on Angels RBI All-Star varsity-level team in the just-concluded fall league.

They're boys who wouldn't be playing this time of year unless the Angels came through to pay for 20 players' registrations and uniforms and to help get these growing boys equipment that fits.

"We're trying to help give these kids a leg up so that they can better compete for spots at their high school when baseball season comes around," said Angels RBI president David Smith. "We want to give them what they need to stay in the game."

So, when a Riagoza, 18, the starting catcher at Santiago High last season, told Smith that he felt his knees crack and hurt beneath the borrowed Santiago gear that he had outgrown, Smith found Riagoza a properly sized set of Mizuno hand-me-downs.

"I'm now using the old gear of (Angels catcher) Hank Conger," Riagoza said with pride. "I can't believe it. Just wearing it makes me want to work harder to get to my dream."

Riagoza, like most boys playing baseball in November, wants to be a professional baseball player. His best chances to develop his game have come through the Angels RBI League, where his coaches, Placentia-grown brothers Richard and Robert Aceves, put the emphasis of player improvement, personal growth and sportsmanship above victories, which are also welcomed.

"They get us thinking about baseball but also about getting good grades and using baseball for the discipline we'd need to get to college, maybe on a baseball scholarship," said Riagoza of Garden Grove. "I hope I can keep playing in college or more."

Riagoza's younger brother, David, 14, was playing in the game he and Serna were watching on this recent Saturday between the Aliso Niguel River Cats and the Angels RBI Owlz in the Lemmon Foundation Futures League of 13- to 15-year-old non-varsity boys.

At 6-feet, 200 pounds, David Riagoza made the move from center field to first base after last year's growth spurt and now models his defense after Angels slugger Albert Pujols. He hopes he has gained the skills to follow in his brother's footsteps and play for Santiago, which doesn't have a freshman team.

"By playing now, I think I have a better chance to make it in high school," David Riagoza said. "Everyone on this Futures Team just wants a chance."

Behind the plate, crouched down in his catcher's gear for the Owlz was Jack Sinanian, 15, who has been in the Angels RBI program for three years though his local Boys & Girls Club.

Just after his father died in 2004, Sinanian and his mother came to Orange County to live with his relatives, including the uncle who introduced him to baseball.

Being around the game allowed him to break out of his shell. Playing in the Angels RBI League saved him from falling between the cracks, giving the baseball training and confidence he needed to make the junior varsity team at Marina High last season.

He didn't have the heart to ask his mother, who works at a department store, to pay $1,000 for one season of elite travel ball.

"Fortunately," Sinanian said, "I found a team I can play on for free. This is my opportunity."

For these Angels RBI All-Stars, having baseball in the fall is something for which they give thanks.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.